How to send your child to school in Luxembourg
Enrolling a child in school can be difficult even in your home country. It is even more difficult when you have to do it in a new place in an unfamiliar environment. Sometimes even the most well-thought-out system can throw up unexpected challenges.
How to prepare for a move
The main thing, in fact, was the psychological preparation, which we began in advance. We had to explain to our daughters that their father had found a new job and would be leaving on business, and then that he was waiting for us and we would soon be going to him. There would be different schools, different children, and a different language, so that they would not experience such a strong shock. We did not use the help of psychologists; I talked to them myself.
In addition, our eldest daughter Dune turned 7 in the winter, and I thought she would immediately go to primary school, cycle 2.1. The lessons there are in German, so we found a teacher who gave her online language lessons. From the end of December, she had German lessons twice a week for 30 minutes.
Since none of the children had attended school yet, we did not have any documents confirming, for example, their academic performance. We prepared notarised translations of their birth certificates into English in advance, collected their medical records from the nursery, and we also had their vaccination certificates.
We also had permission for the children to travel abroad, but they didn't ask for it. The only thing that confused the border guards was our surnames. My husband and I have different surnames; I kept mine, and the children took his. But in the end, they just looked at my internal passport with the children's details, and after that there were no more questions.
What to do once you are in Luxembourg
It all starts, of course, with registering with the local council. My case is probably very unusual.
While we were getting ready, I read up on how state schools work in Luxembourg. Everyone said it was pretty quick: you go to the local council, they sort everything out and enrol your kid in school. I flew over thinking that Dunya would be in school in a week, but it turned out to be way more interesting than that.
When we first came to the commune, they refused to register us. The employee who was there that day said that since we were citizens of a third country, not the EU, we first had to apply to the migration service.
"Wait," I say. "My husband arrived a little earlier and got through registration without any problems!"
— Well, yes, but he came from another commune.
— All right, then we'll go. What do they need to give me for you to register us?
— I don't know, they'll tell you.
The next day, again with my two children, I went to the migration service. There were secretaries sitting there. I approached them and said, "So and so, we were sent to you." They were very surprised and replied that they did not understand why we had come and what we needed. But they gave us an email address where we could get help.
I wrote to them. They replied the next working day. It turned out that we had done everything correctly and that the local authority really should have registered us. They sent me a list of all the documents they might ask for, but I also kept the letter itself.
As a result, when I returned to the commune, there was already another employee there who looked at the papers and registered us in just a few minutes! But we spent a lot of time on this stage. We first came on 23 March, I think, and then again on the 28th. So the three-day period officially given for registration was missed, but it seemed to me that no one really cared.
It gets even funnier. When we came to the commune for the first time, the same employee who refused to register us gave me the email address of the Department of Education when I asked about children. He said that all questions should be directed there.
And so, on 31 March, when we finally registered after the tuberculosis test, I wrote a letter. I explained that we were such-and-such, that we had arrived with two children, and asked what we should do. The 31st of March was the last day before the Easter holidays. Naturally, no one replied to me during the holidays. I wrote another letter, then another. After the holidays, I sent a reminder that I still had not received a reply.
This time, we received a response. They wrote the following: "Please tell us whether you have registered with the local authority. If not, please do so as soon as possible. If you have, the local authority should have sent you a form. Only after we receive information about your children will we be able to assign them to a school."
In response, I sent copies of our registrations and decided to go back to the commune the next day. Still with two children. My husband works in an office, and it's the height of the season, so it's very difficult for him. He can't stay at home with the little ones.
I arrive:
— Hello, I sent a request to the Department of Education. They said they needed a form from the local council.
— Yes, we need it, but we've already sent everything!
— And when did they send it, if it's not a secret?
— It's no secret, yesterday.
I don't know what happened there, but my intuition tells me that the department got a little worried and requested a response from the municipality. For some reason, I'm sure that's what happened. Anyway, when I got home, I wrote to the DO again, and now they replied that they had received all the documents and scheduled an interview date for me.
What kind of interview do they have at school?
The interview took place in the canton's main town, but we live in the commune of Lorenzweiler. When we arrived, we were met by a very pleasant woman who took us to a separate room and explained in detail what she would be doing with us.
It turned out that the interview was not with the person who had arranged it, but with a psychologist. And it only concerned the eldest daughter.
During the interview, the psychologist gave Duna some tasks. They were mainly related to mathematics. Addition, subtraction, some game-like activities, and all of them were up to 20.
While my daughter was doing her homework, we talked to the psychologist. I explained to her how schools work in Russia, that children don't start school at 4, but at 7, and so on. We filled out the questionnaire. Regarding my younger daughter, she said she would not include any information because her main interest was my older daughter. However, she did note on the questionnaire that Dunya has a sister named Ulyana.
When Dunya finished her assignments, the psychologist looked at her answers and said that the first-grade maths programme would not cause her any problems, but only on condition that she spoke German. It was necessary to test this.
Dune was given the alphabet, and she became completely confused and did nothing. I explained that my daughter had only been learning the language for a few months, was building up her vocabulary, and that everything would come with time. I asked her to translate some of my phrases from Russian into German, which she did.
We were offered two options. The first was to go to mainstream school right away for a few months, which is cycle 2.1. But the problem was that her German was weak, and there wasn't enough time to learn it. The psychologist was afraid that our daughter would not have time to catch up and that she might start having problems, including because she did not understand Luxembourgish. The second option was to go to a play school for a few months. This is cycle 1.2, where the children are younger. There were several advantages to this option: Dunya would start learning Luxembourgish, and there would be no rush with German. She would settle into her new environment, get to know the other children, and she would have no homework, meaning her workload would be much lighter.
Dunya was a little upset at first, of course, but when I explained to her in detail why it was necessary and what she would be doing, she cheered up and agreed to the second option. So, she will be starting school this week. In other words, they arranged it without any problems in the middle of the year.
I almost forgot a very pleasant moment. After the interview, we decided to take a day to think it over, and the psychologist forwarded our application to the director of the education department and gave us her email address. I wrote to the director. She turned out to be very friendly, supported our choice, and referred me to the president of the school committee.
We were very lucky here too: literally half an hour after the message, the president called back and said that she had already enrolled my daughters everywhere – the older one in a school class and the younger one, Ulyana, in a local preschool. In turn, the chair of the school committee gave my phone number to the teachers, and on the very same day, Dunya's future teacher called me and suggested we meet.
We arrived at the school the next day. She sat down with us right in the group, and the girls observed how everything worked and what the children were doing. While we were talking, the older one made some kind of craft and was extremely pleased with it.
And I completely clarified for myself how this school works. On Mondays, the children go to the swimming pool, on Thursdays they go on trips to the forest, on Fridays they have physical education, and so on. Plus, they learn the language and acquire basic school knowledge.
What problems still exist?
The main problem with children of Dunya's age, as I understood from the psychologist's story, is that there are no special integration classes for them. That is, if she went to school in Russia, she would still be enrolled in cycle 2.1. Additional integration with tutors and language courses, as I understand it, is intended for older children who have already been studying the programme in their own language for some time and need to adapt very quickly to the new environment.
There are also difficulties with the schedule. They have a standard schedule for each category of school: from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every day, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, there are additional classes from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. So, between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., you have to pick up your child three times a week, bring them home, feed them, and send them back. But there is an option with extended hours.
Extension in Luxembourg
This is the best option for parents like me, for example. I'm not working at the moment, so I can pick up my daughter, but I also have another child who is 3.5 years old. As you can imagine, this is an extremely labour-intensive process.
After-school care in Luxembourg is called Maison Relais. We found one that belongs to the Red Cross: they have several branches that run boarding houses for grandparents and also after-school care for children.
Usually, children stay there between classes, where they are fed and played with. But you can also drop them off during other working hours. You can pick them up later if you need to. I think they are open until 7 p.m. I have the schedule.
Extended hours are not available to everyone.
The main problem with after-school care is that there may not be any places available. As far as I know, if both parents work, the child is automatically enrolled in after-school care. However, if at least one parent is not working, as in my case, after-school care is only available if there are places available.
This is a real problem in the capital, but it's easier in regions with lower population density.
To compete for places, you need to submit a package of documents. I am currently working on this. You need information about your parents' work, their schedule, a photo of the child, medical certificates, vaccination records and lots of other different forms in French.
Extension is not free
Maison Relais costs money. The good news is that the government covers a significant portion of the costs, but not all of them. To receive compensation, you need to register for the check service in our wonderful community.
The girls and I went there again, submitted the necessary documents, the most important of which was my husband's pay slip. They should be for three months, but as I found out, even if there is only one, it's not a big deal, as long as there is one. Those who don't have pay slips will have a harder time. I don't know how freelancers are registered, but I guess there is some kind of scheme for them, I won't say for sure.
The commune employee accepted the documents, calculated something, and gave us receipts indicating how much we would pay and for what. As a result, we got the first 13 hours for free, and then we were charged for each additional hour.
In other words, the state actually reimburses a significant portion of the costs, and if you don't connect to this service, your bills will be much higher.
Another interesting thing is that the money spent on the extension can be deducted from the taxable base at the end of the year. I don't know the details yet, but I was told to come to the local council when I fill out my tax return, and they will advise me and help me.
What amenities are available for parents?
I have already downloaded the ClassDojo app that my teacher recommended. It's a platform where teachers can upload photos from joint outings and lessons, make announcements, and so on. It's a kind of platform for communicating with parents about their children.
Another big plus is the school buses. They have several stops along the way to school, where they pick up the children, take them to class, and then bring them back.
Specifically, in our community, there is an escort on the bus. That means you entrust your children to a specific person who looks after them. It's very convenient because I can put both my older and younger children on the bus and not have to drive myself.
The main disadvantage of the bus is that it picks up children in the morning and takes them home for lunch break, and then back to school. In the evening after classes, it also brings children back, but if a child attends after-school activities, you have to pick them up yourself. In other words, the bus only follows the general class schedule.
Overall, I think we will quickly get used to the new rules, and the girls will enjoy living and studying in Luxembourg!